Twin Cities Marathon

After the many weeks of training, the Twin Cities Marathon was finally here. Even though I have run Grandma's marathon twice, I was still nervous and not quite sure what to expect. I had looked over the course, and I actually had run parts of it before (back in 1992 when I lived down in Mpls), but had heard a number of stories about 'the Hill' so we a little apprehensive. I am so glad I had Jim Sloan, a fellow teacher to start the race with. We started strong and I felt good, even through the pounding rain at Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet, and Minnehaha Parkway. It was not until Lake Nokomis when I started to get cold, and I started to slow down a bit. Jim and I lost each other a few times at water stops, but after mile 15, we did not meet up again until the end. I walked up most of 'the Hill' and then ran for most of the way down Summit Avenue to the Capital. It was fun to have Deb and the kids, along with Jill, Tom, Taylor, Jordan, and Grandma Judy cheer me on three different times along the course. The Sloans and Scholin's were also out cheering on the runners. There was times when that support was really needed : ) I crossed the finish line with a chip time of 4:05:35. This is my best marathon time yet. I beat my last time by over 25 minutes! It is such a great feeling to cross that finish line. I have not been as sore as I have been in the past after the marathon, and this was the first time that I really did not have any injuries during training. It all paid off. Next marathon: Grandma's Marathon in June - only 251 days away.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!

Noah has had a great time playing football this fall. His team is 3-2 so far, and the guys have shown so much improvement over last year. Noah is playing quarterback, and then middle linebacker on defense. He likes tackling the other team and has made some great plays on defense. We are very proud of his efforts. He always gives it is best.
The team has two more games - tomorrow and then on the 25th. We just hope that the rain holds off tomorrow! We are glad that Pat and the boys, papa and grandma Sue, and grandma Judy have all been to some games to cheer the team on.

Happy Birthday Noah, Elly, and Carson!

The cousins celebrated their birthday's at the Tyberg Farm on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the annual hayride to Crex Meadows. The family has grown and we needed Two tractors and wagons this year. The Tyberg boys (Dean and Dale) even did a drag race down one of the back roads!

Justin Morneau with the kids

ok - so I did not get a good picture of the kids with Justin.

The Weekend

We made it through the first week of school. All the kids enjoy school, their teachers, and their classmates. It sure makes things easier knowing that we do not need to beg or fight with them to go to school or do their school work. We have some pretty special kids! We went to the football game Friday night and watched the Dragons beat up on Duluth Marshall. On Saturday, Noah had his first game and they won 14-13. Noah ran in two touchdowns. The team played great - such improvments over last year. You can tell the boys are getting a feel for the game and we are lucky to have three great coaches! Grandma Judy, Pat, Trent, and Brody also cheered on the boys. After the game we headed down to the Twins game only to watch them lose to the detroit Tigers. We were glad that grandma, Pat, Trent, and Brody were able to join us at the twins game too ! Afterwards, we stood in line with the Berubes and Browns to meet Justin Morneau. However, it began to rain, and then pour for a few minutes before returning to rain again. After over an hour and a half in line, the met Justin, received and autographed picture, and we headed off to a warm vehicle. The pictures above are after the rain --except noah and Brant trying to stay dry with a diaper and diaper changing pad!!!! We met up with the Berube's for a late supper at the Olive Garden. What a fun family! We finally left for home about 10:30 p.m. A long, but fun day.

First Day of School

Lydia is going to SCHOOL! Wow - I can't believe our little girl is in kindergarten. She is very excited. Jakd and Noah are also looking forward to seeing their friends again on a regular basis. Deb and I could always use a little more time to get ready, but the day is here! Noah has also started football practice two nights a week, and his first game is this weekend. I hope I can continue to find time to run. The marathon is less than 5 weeks away! Yikes! I did get a 20 mile run in over the weekend, but from now on, finding a three and a half hour chunk of time to do a long run like that probably is not going to happen. The plan is to walk Yukon every morning before school - so much for sleeping in longer this year. And then I hope to run either after school or while Noah is at practice. Wish me luck.

Happy Birthday Taylor...and Noah too!

With school starting we knew it would be hard to find a time for the Tufanos and us to get together to celebrate birthdays, so we held a pool birthday party over Labor Day weekend. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time swimming. As the weather has gotten colder each evening, the pool water has cooled off quickly. This is probably the last weekend of the pool for this year. We went for pizza on Friday night and had a great time.
On Sunday we had one last pool party/bbq. Many people were out of town for the long weekend, but we had a good time with those who could make it. We ate lots of yummy food and the kids were hard to get out of the pool at the end of the day. I can't believe that school starts on Monday!!!!!